Challenging media: poverty amidst abundance

Abstract

"The corporate control of media is well explored (Thomas and Nain, 2004). Through direct advertising and strategic programming of content, traditional and new media play key roles in creating, expanding and consolidating corporate markets and in maintaining a consumer mentality that serves corporate goals. To these media, the poor are simply class D and E consumers, whose low/zero disposable incomes make them the least priority strata in the consumer pyramid. As a topic, the poor are occasionally used to attract more readers, listeners and viewers and therefore more advertisers. This of course does not stop the poor, anti-poverty advocates, and well-intentioned media persons from tapping media for their own goals. These goals may involve calling public attention to specific cases of poverty, raising public awareness and understanding of poverty‟s root causes, or actually getting people and decision-makers to act towards presumed solutions. Before the role of media in creating or eradicating poverty can be further explored, it is essential to gain better understanding of poverty itself."